Verdict: Zanjeer is a well-paced masala remake but a lukewarm debut for Ram Charan which doesn't match up to the intensity of the original film. None of the performances ring true, apart from Sanjay Dutt's strong acting. Skip it.

Verdict: Zanjeer is a well-paced masala remake but a lukewarm debut for Ram Charan which doesn't match up to the intensity of the original film. None of the performances ring true, apart from Sanjay Dutt's strong acting. Skip it. less

Plot: The official remake of Amitabh Bachchan's 1973 hit Zanjeer. Vijay is a brutally honest police officer who has been transferred yet again by the system for chasing the corrupt underworld goons. He is in charge of a case where the key eye witness, Mala, has seen a murder by Teja’s Gang and refuses to co-operate. Teja is the head of an oil mafia operation and doesn’t want Mala alive. Vijay manages to convince Mala to give a statement which makes her perpetrators come after her. The film revolves around Vijay’s struggle against the system, his battle against his inner demons and the chase after Teja.

“This is work and that is a hangover”. Ram Charan Teja points to his tired eyes and Atul Kulkarni’s drunk eyes and makes this hil...
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“This is work and that is a hangover”. Ram Charan Teja points to his tired eyes and Atul Kulkarni’s drunk eyes and makes this hilarious observation. Oddly enough, he describes what the original film was and what this shoddy remake is. One was the work of an accomplished director called Prakash Mehra who told a good story (which itself was inspired by the 1967 Lee Van Cleef western – Death Rides A Horse), the end result was the beginning of the stardom of Amitabh Bachchan. The other is a hangover of a hack called Apoorva Lakhia who is drunk on too much masala, the end result is a failure to launch for Ram Charan Teja.

All this is coming from a fan of remakes. Two or three good movies out of one good story! Why would I not want that? I don’t believe updating a story in a brand new film is a bad idea at all. It shows the numerous cinematic possibilities contained in one source. But I also don’t believe it is always a good idea. Especially when you neither make the same film presented better nor do you make a new film presented differently. The earlier two remakes of Amitabh Bachchan films - Don (2006) and Agneepath (2012) created new cinematic worlds out of the same premise. They were worthy companions to their source and don’t make the old ones look bad. The biggest failure of a remake is when it makes the old film look bad. This is exactly what this futile remake does. It’s not as bad as what RGV did to Sholay, but that’s no benchmark for any film of any sort.

Angry young man - this was the tag given to Amitabh Bachchan who played Vijay in the original film released in 1973. He had a restrained countenance and a calm face; under his face were multiple explosions, which erupted over decades and made him the revered actor that he is. Filling his shoes is a gargantuan task. In the case of the earlier remakes, I didn’t want to compare them to the original or the actors to Mr. Bachchan. Those films knew the original well and showed genuine love for the material. They changed many things but never lost the essence. This film has essentially the same plot but never captures the essence. Its ignorance makes me want to compare and when I do, I just don’t like what I see. Ram Charan Teja’s voice is dubbed (a terrible decision) and has a stiff, perpetually swollen face, which is not exactly a storehouse of acting. There is no calm, no anger, no explosions.

Priyanka Chopra plays the role of Mala, which was earlier portrayed by Jaya Bachchan. I don’t recall Mala being an annoying idiot in the original. The innocence is replaced by nonsense. Most of the jokes of this “simple NRI ladki” fall flat and she is neither funny, nor amusing. She is also a part of a moment, which is shamelessly lifted from The Artist (2011).

Sanjay Dutt gets to act out a scene exactly lifted from Crash (2005) where he says he doesn’t want to be on the Discovery Channel if he covers up the blood on a car. Pran was memorable in the role of Sher Khan. We cared for the friendship between him and Vijay. Here, Sher Khan disappears after the first fifteen minutes of the movie only to reappear after the intermission (maybe due to the actor’s imprisonment) in a confounding scene we see Vijay and Sher Khan joyfully playing a video game. Since that is EXACTLY what middle aged men do when they hang out.

Prakash Raj plays Teja, the villain and Mahie Gill plays Mona, his keep. In a scene, they are watching a scene from the original film and you can tell what went wrong. While Prakash Raj adds his own comic touch to Ajith’s serious turn, it just doesn’t work. We have seen this act a number of times before and done better. This is plain overkill.

I was also majorly bummed not to see any song from the original appear in this movie. This is one thing that I admired about the Don remake. If you are remaking a film, why not give the songs a shiny makeover as well? On second thought, judging by how bad this film was I should be relieved they didn’t butcher the songs and stuck to some cringe-worthy new music. On top of that, they are way too many and not a single one is worth giving another listen, or a first. After Satygraha last weekend, it is not pleasant to listen to Rahupati Raghav placed all over the soundtrack without a context.

There is also a laughable ending attached where the makers show interest in making a sequel. What case will Vijay tackle next? Neither do I care nor do I wish that upon you. There is a scene where the lead actors almost think they are making a superhit along the lines of Dabangg 3. Aww, you guys. Tsk tsk.

The film moves at a good speed but then again, so does an F1 car. This film didn’t bore me but it didn’t entertain me either. Those who disliked the remakes of Don and Agneepath must definitely watch this. You deserve to watch this more than the people who liked them. Aur laga lo buri nazar remakes par.

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The phrase ‘Angry Young Man’ had its origins in the 70s. The nation was badly hit by the monster of Emergency and everyone was fuming a...
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The phrase ‘Angry Young Man’ had its origins in the 70s. The nation was badly hit by the monster of Emergency and everyone was fuming and boiling. The then young India could immediately relate themselves to this phrase and any hero who played such a role in movies, very well made a ‘connect’ with the audience. Amitabh Bachchan was at the pinnacle of his career during that era.

Everyone rooted to his characters and people emoted with him. Many people took the mantle of the angry young man in the coming years; some succeeded and some failed, and now it’s with Telugu star Ram Charan. At the moment, the entire nation is angry, thanks to many reasons. In this new avatar of ‘a boiling cauldron’ can Cherry repeat the magic of his predecessors and re-invent ‘the angry young man’. The answer is a YES and a NO!

Zanjeer starts on a pale note with the hero introduction amid the chants of Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram. Then it gets into business of introducing our hero who is a peripatetic cop. Yes – 5 years and 22 places, and now to Mumbai. The first case he takes up there leads him into the oil mafia. The plot is crystal clear. The film is a police officer’s lash on illicit oil trade. The modus operandi of the traders is shown in an impeccable manner. Then there are list of actors – some create hurdles for the hero and some propel him towards his goal. Needless to say, in the end, good wins over evil.

Ram Charan as ACP Vijay Khanna is impressive but when pitted against mammoths such as Sher Khan (Sanjay Dutt), he loses the steam. It’s like watching David and Goliath on screen. Priyanka Chopra as an NRI tries to provide some comic relief in an otherwise serious story. Prakash Raj as Teja (the main villain) never tries to come out of his patented style. The audience got bored seeing him overdoing the same thing again and again. Now, it’s time for him to set on a different track. Atul Kulkarni as Jaya Dev does justice to his pivotal role of a crime journalist.

The narration includes some real time incidents – murder of a collector and a journalist who is hell bent to wipe out the oil mafia. But these things have been presented in an utmost silly way. A deputy collector travels on a bike and takes the photographs of culprits. The same artificial things are placed at multiple locations in the film. Oh! I don't want to get into details like how a police officer is suspended in a press conference and how can he and his girlfriend can have 5-star dinner everyday. The movie also has some good moments – Teja and Mona watching the old Zanjeer (may be Lakhia’s tribute to the original), a well orchestrated blast scene in a slum, and a racy second half. The cutaways during the climax with the Moharram procession are to die for.

Director Apoorva Lakhia gets into his Hollywood shoes. I mean he doesn’t get there with his style of film-making but tries to border on some textbook movies. Couple of scenes, the introduction scene of Prakash Raj can be traced back to that of Robert Di Niro’s in The Untouchables. And when in doubt, there’s always Scarface for your rescue. The entire set-up became plastic with the type of costumes – hats, and the décor at the villain’s place. Mr. Lakhia, you are not a Scorsese or De Palma. So, it’s better if you stick to your style of film-making.

The move starts with a James Bond-ish intro song and in the middle you can hear the overtures of Mission Impossible soundtrack. This will be a cool game for movie buffs where in you can identify multiple OSTs of Hollywood films. Coming to songs – Pinky is a disaster. Mumbai ka Hero is the only song where Cherry is seen shaking his leg. But this one falls prey to bad placement. The rest are casual flings.

Zanjeer hits the middle road of classy and cheesy. The first half is tad slow and the second half picks momentum. Ram Charan fits the role perfectly, but at times, his screen presence is over-shadowed by the supporting cast, esp. Sanjay Dutt. It’s high-time, Cherry should be cherry-picking his films. The intentions are noble and the platform is right for his Bollywood debut. But Charan proposes, audience disposes..

Wait, that’s not over. There is Zanjeer 2 and this time ACP Vijay Khanna will fight against the drug mafia!

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You know the film you are watching is beyond redemption when Chicken and Chicks are called the two "meows" of life by one of the main characters on...
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You know the film you are watching is beyond redemption when Chicken and Chicks are called the two "meows" of life by one of the main characters on screen. Lets face it, the original Zanjeer, despite giving us The Angry Young Man, was never a classic. So remaking it makes little sense. What makes even less sense is to maraud the film into this drivel in the new Zanjeer. Apoorva Lakhia manages to present a film that is downright tasteless.

Opening with Ram Charan in the backdrop of his Dad Chiranjeevi's photo bashing people as others look on, and with an embarrasingly sleazy set of girls by his side, Zanjeer circa 2013 makes it clear in no uncertain terms that is is intentionally crass and downmarket. The film progresses further to more cringe worthiness- Prakash Raj and Mahie Gill demeaning themselves in roles that befit Veena Maliks and Ashmit Patels of the world, not to forget generic item songs like the mumbai ka hero and Pinky. The film is loud, garrulous in the wrong way and irritatingly long.

Characterizations, the strong point of the original blockbuster, is given a hand with this one. Ram Charan oscillates between being beaten by the table in the police chowki in acting, to sleep walking through scenes befittin a zombie film. He is wooden and visibly uncomfortable in the Hindi mileu. Sad, because in Telugu, he is confident and pretty decent in terms of screen presence at least. Perhaps, the man comes into his own in the telugu version of the movie.

Priyanka, outdoes herself with yet another embrassment this year, not make that two. After Exotic, if there is any more proof needed that the girl needs to get her choices right, try watching her NRI returned now-cute-now-smart-now needy-now bimbo act in this film. She talks with a twang that makes you choke on the popcorn, dances to a Pinky that deserves being relegated to the bad bad 80's and bats her eyelids coyly whenever Ram is next to her. In short, she manages to completely irritate you to the core.

Prakash Raj and Mahie Gill are wasted totally, stereotyped and given half baked roles that let them down constantly. Bad music, over dose of action, and a pallete that switches between a Kaante and a Singham leaves you eternally confused about what exactly is Zanjeer trying to be.

A B grade Telugu action potboiler masquerading as a Hindi remake, Zanjeer is a disappointment that will and should be forgotten within a week. Stay clear and stop wearing Pink.